Doug Drexler
| Place of birth = New York City, New York, USA | Date of death = | Place of death = | Awards for Trek = 2 Emmy Award nominations | Roles = Makeup Artist, Scenic Artist, Production Illustrator, Special and Visual effects staff, TNG and ENT performer, ''Star Trek'' author, ''Star Trek'' Reference Artist, Publication Artist | Characters = [[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) command division personnel#Command division crewmember in Ten Forward (2366)|Command division ''Enterprise-D officer]], ''Earth Starfleet ceremony attendee | image2 = Doug Drexler NHS Class 71.jpg | imagecap2 = ...winning an Academy Award for Dick Tracy (left) and an Emmy Award for Battlestar Galactica (right) }} "To truly understand Doug Drexler, you have to go beyond the obvious. Sure he’s a talented illustrator and graphic designer. But the key to Doug is his eyes. Look at them closely and you’ll discover a Merlin the Magician looniness lurking beneath the surface. I’m convinced Doug knows secrets of the universe that the rest of us can’t even imagine. He’s also a big Sinatra fan, so you know the guy has taste." – Ira Steven Behr, Producer, December 2008 ( ) "Every so many years I get the urge to do something else. I went from makeup, to scenic artist, to illustrator, to VFX.(...)I find it strange that a one person can do just one thing all of their lives. I know a lot of people like that, most of the people I know are like that; be a makeup artist for 45 years. There are so many cool things out there. Life is a thrill. Get all you can." – Doug Drexler, Production Staffer, on his many career direction changes, already during Star Trek, 5 November 2015 http://www.thebronzereview.com/#!st-doug-drexler/c17s3 Artist Douglas "Doug" Drexler has been creating for, or contributing to, numerous Star Trek productions and publications, both official and unofficial, since the 1970s. Starting out in fandom, Drexler has proven to be one of the most versatile production staffers in the Star Trek franchise. Beginnings as Star Trek fan Born in New York City, Drexler was a first-generation Star Trek: The Original Series fan - although he was prohibited from watching television on school nights, Drexler managed to watch , and subsequently to persuade his parents to allow him an hour's viewing a week, for Star Trek. Drexler, a School of Visual Arts, New York, BA degree graduate, along with Ron Barlow, ran a small Star Trek store in Manhattan, New York - "The Federation Trading Post" - during the mid-1970s. Although failing initially, the store became more well-known after advertising during Original Series syndication, eventually becoming a focus for media contact about Star Trek. Drexler and Barlow were approached by Paradise Press to edit, and write for, one of the first professional Star Trek magazines not being an fanzine, the Star Trek Giant Poster Book. It was through the store that Drexler met and befriended frequent collaborator Geoffrey Mandel, with whom he compiled one of the first technical reference works in Trek history: the USS Enterprise Officer's Manual, as well as native-Californian Anthony Fredrickson (having actually already befriended him in his high-school days), with whom he would author the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual. It was during this period in time that Drexler and Mandel made up their mind that they would work for the Star Trek franchise one day, as Mandel recalled, "Back in 1979, Doug Drexler and I were probably the two biggest Star Trek fans in New York City. We knew that was being filmed, and we knew we had to be a part of it, so we took time off from work and school to fly to L.A. and do our best to sneak onto the sound stages of Paramount. Of course, we had no connections, barely a place to stay, and only by sheer chutzpah did we finally manage to get onto the lot, tiptoe upstairs to the Star Trek art department (ironically, the same room I worked in for two years on Voyager), and talk to some of the designers, including Mike Minor and Lee Cole. What was probably a routine meeting for them with two Trek geeks was a decisive moment in my career, and Doug’s-we suddenly realized that there was actually a PAYING JOB for people like us, who liked to design spacecraft and draw little diagrams of ray guns. I can remember coming back home to New York and telling my mother that I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life, and she had a good laugh when I said it was to work in science fiction art departments. Who could possibly make a living at that?!" xCW9imJ8mIzUQ}} The wide-eyed fan Drexler came in a sense full circle as he was yet to work on The Motion Picture, when he a quarter of a century later worked as a digital artist on the 2001 The Director's Edition DVD version. Drexler also contributed as co-writer of two Gold Key TOS comics issues, "This Tree Bears Bitter Fruit" (#47) and "Sweet Smell of Evil" (#48). On issue #47, he is credited as a Story Consultant. Starting a professional career Drexler began working as a makeup artist in on movies like The Hunger, and Amityville 3-D, having been invited to do so by renowned makeup artist, . His other early work included C.H.U.D., Starman (both, 1984), Manhunter (1986), My Demon Lover and Fatal Attraction (1987), Poltergeist III '' (1988), as well as ''3 Men and a Little Lady (1990). After engaging in a long correspondence with Robert Justman and Michael Westmore during preproduction of the new spin-off television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, only to be unable to get a position on the series due to union rules, Drexler moved to Hollywood in to work on Dick Tracy (being made a member of the LA Union by ), for which he later won a 1991 Academy Award (shared with John Caglione, Jr.), a Bafta Award (also shared with Caglione), supplemented by a Saturn Award (again co-shared with Caglione) to boot. Dick Tracy featured many Star Trek alumni in the cast: Colm Meaney, John Schuck, Ian Wolfe, Seymour Cassel, Hamilton Camp, Chuck Hicks, Mike Hagerty, Robert Costanzo, Ed McCready, Bert Remsen, Walker Edmiston and Michael J. Pollard. Though he afterwards ended up being hired on the Star Trek, he initially did concurrently work on the productions True Identity (1991), Shining Through (1992), and Running Delilah (1993), while the series was in hiatus. Professional Star Trek affiliation Now able to work in California, Drexler again approached Westmore to reapply for a position in the Next Generation make-up department. Westmore, incredulous at first that an Academy Award nominee would want to work as a lesser paid makeup artist for a television show – even though he himself had already won one – , hired him, but not before he had exclaimed, "what do you want to do that for, you're doing features!" http://www.thebronzereview.com/#!st-doug-drexler/c17s3 Later friend and co-worker, Michael Okuda, too, was impressed that an Academy Award winner decided to work on a television show, "(...) It was I who was honored to meet this Academy Award-winning artist. He did me – and Star Trek – a huge favor when he said he was interested in working in the Art Department. I already knew of his talent, but I was impressed that he offered to take a huge pay cut to work with us." ''The Next Generation'' Drexler's first assignment was putting on the Shakespeare makeup on Patrick Stewart for the Next Generation s third season episode . (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine, issue 11, p. 53) How eager Drexler was to work on Star Trek was exemplified by the fact that he was already working in the make-up department before Dick Tracy even received its three Oscars out of seven nominations. Actually winning one, was an unending source of glee for Next Generation actor LeVar Burton as Drexler recalled, "The cast loved it. They went crazy. LeVar Burton used to tease me constantly. I would walk on set, he would yell, "''ladies and gentlemen, Academy Award winning makeup artist Doug Drexler." It didn’t matter where I was. One day I was walking down Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, and some guy comes racing around the corner and we collide. We looked at one another, and it’s LeVar! I’m like, "oh, no," because I knew it was coming. He turns to the entire crowded street and announces at the top of his lungs, "ladies and gentlemen, Academy Award winning...". Funny as hell." http://www.thebronzereview.com/#!st-doug-drexler/c17s3 Drexler continued to work as a make-up artist for three years, earning him two Emmy Award nominations as such, with the first appearance of Lal make-up for the third season episode becoming one of his more noticeable contributions. ''Deep Space Nine Happy as Drexler was, working on Star Trek, he has professed that, "(...)the art department was calling to me and that's really where I wanted to be." He struck up a friendship with Michael Okuda, whom he admired, and kept in touch with him and his Scenic Art Department, waiting for an opportunity to move over. That opportunity came when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went into production and Okuda hired him, eventually becoming the lead scenic artist on the series. A grateful Drexler recalled, "Looking through the trade paper, ''Variety, I saw that Paramount had made up their minds and they were going to do Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I got on the phone right away to Mike Okuda, who really stuck out his neck for me, and that's how it happened!" (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine, issue 11, p. 54) Though hired as scenic artist, usually working alongside fellow Scenic Artist Denise Okuda – wife of Michael – , on an alternating episode basis, Drexler almost from the start doubled as production illustrator, designing props, albeit officially uncredited, "''Mike hired me to design graphics, but as soon as Herman found out I could sketch, he had me designing hand props. Mike had an idea about hand props that would snap into walls or consoles." At Okuda's department, Drexler learned a valuable practical lesson regarding designing, "I learned early that you don’t send over just one or two designs, you send a dozen. As Mike taught me, "Be sure and send them something to hate"." Michael Okuda himself, very much aware of the fact that producers valued a multitude of options – the more, the better – , had explained the reason for doing so, "Herman Zimmerman ''head of the Art Department, to which Okuda's answered used to remind us that there is always more than one way to solve any particular design challenge. It was his way of telling us not to get too fixated on any particular design element, because there are sooooo many factors that you can’t control. Even when you think you understand all the requirements for a design, you’re often surprised by a last-minute request from the director, or an unexpected budget problem, or a producer who wants a different approach, or a change in schedule, or any of a hundred things that fall into the category of what we called "oh, by the way...". You’d think that this would be frustrating, and it times it was. But the odd thing is that it sometimes inspired us to stretch ourselves in different directions, and surprisingly, it sometimes even resulted in better work."'' While employed as artist at Okuda's Scenic Art Department, Drexler also contributed as such, besides Deep Space Nine, to three , , and . Most notable was his creation of his first, highly detailed MSD of the , prominently seen in Generations and on which he commented, "I enjoyed laying cross sections out, and was proud that Mike thought I was the guy for the job." Future Star Trek productions would afford him ample opportunity to indulge this passion. ''Voyager'' Officially, Drexler has never worked for the studio on Star Trek: Voyager, when that series started production in 1994. This was due to the studio's policy of contracting production staffers for one Star Trek production only, though it did not extend to the senior department staff, which in Drexler's case was Michael Okuda only. As Deep Space Nine scenic artist Drexler was therefore legally and formally forbidden to work on any of the others Star Trek television productions, a bit to his chagrin as he once stated that as far as he was concerned, "There was no good reason for this that we could perceive." Still, the studio condoned his input in the earliest stages of the new series' development by relaxing their own proviso when they, among others, requested Drexler to submit design propositions for the new "hero" ship, though the studio made sure Drexler was not credited for it. Actual "illegal" activities Drexler, the consummate Star Trek fan, performed for the new series were for example the application of the signage decals on the [[Intrepid class model#Physical studio model |USS Voyager studio model]] (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, p. 325), and the co-construction of the Mars Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards maquette for the second season season episode . A very noticeable contribution Drexler made as such, was the MSD he created together with Okuda. After the Deep Space Nine series wrapped, Drexler moved over as production illustrator and visual effects (VFX) artist to Foundation Imaging, for whom he yet continued working on Voyager, the only time during his Star Trek years he was not directly employed by Paramount/CBS. Yet, by this time he had already gradually and increasingly been called upon to make contributions as production illustrator – although he was never officially credited as such until Star Trek: Enterprise – , even after not being formally employed by the franchise at the time. "I'm the only guy on the Voyager team at Foundation who is a sketcher. If Rick Sternbach is too busy, or the art department has left on hiatus, Rob Bonchune or [Lebowitz|[Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz]] will ask me to bash out ideas. This was the case when I worked in the DS9 art department as well. If John Eaves was busy I would pinch-hit. I enjoy designing, but I think that I wouldn't want to be the lead illustrator. It's a tough job. This way I get to dabble.", Drexler clarified. ''Enterprise'' of his Enterprise (NX-01) design]] While still employed at Foundation, he was asked in 2000 to break the stalemate on the design of the new "hero" ship, , for the upcoming series Star Trek: Enterprise. Starting to design a prototype CGI model under the erroneous impression that it would just be a quick mock-up, He found himself in a months long, unpaid, high pressure workload that took up most of his spare time, as he was at the time still fully employed at Foundation, working on the aforementioned ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (The Director's Edition) DVD, among others. ( , pp. 25-26) Drexler's dogged determination to bring the project to successful fruition, which was anything but "dabbling", solicited an accolade of high praise from Michael Okuda, "That’s dedication, but that’s what Doug brings to every project. And it earned him a place among such luminaries as Jefferies, Probert, Sternbach, Eaves, Taylor, Zimmerman, and James." However, Drexler was rewarded for this stressful assignment by his subsequent position as senior illustrator on the new series, back in the employ of CBS one year later, finally earning him his "illustrator" credit. During these years, Drexler also contributed as illustrator to the last Star Trek film set in the prime universe, . As an Original Series fan, Drexler became concerned with the chosen visual direction the producers had decided upon for the new prequel series, but as former co-worker Mandel stated, "Having been around then, I also know that Doug Drexler and John Eaves did ''exactly what the producers asked them to'' http://www.trekweb.com/stories.php?aid=xCW9imJ8mIzUQ," despite the fact that Drexler, while proud of "(...) the NX-01, even though it was a frustrating experience," considered himself "(...) a "canon" kind of guy. I would have liked to have seen the Daedalus style ship. You know...the sphere instead of saucer. The producers wanted it to be a saucer because they wanted it "recognizable"." It hinted at elevated tension levels between producers and creative staffers on what a "proper" prequel visual style or starship design lineage should look like. Subsequent events however, proved that fans were in concordance with the creative staff. And while several by then former colleagues, Bonchune in particular, later vented their negative opinions on several internet blogs, Drexler, in accordance with his upbeat and diplomatic nature, kept these to himself...usually; only once did he allow himself to slip up when he made the acerbic "You'll make a fine producer!" riposte to one fan's overly criticism of his later refit-NX design, speaking volumes in that respect. Other official Star Trek work During his tenure as scenic artist on Deep Space Nine, Drexler taught himself the software which, aside for submitting his early USS Voyager design propositions in this format, served him well in providing the technical illustrations for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual and Star Trek Encyclopedia. He went on to master the CGI software as well, the build of the Breen warship for being his first contribution in this format for the franchise. ( ) Actually, the fact that Drexler had been honing his skills building CGI models in LightWave while working on Voyager at Foundation Imaging, was instrumental in his invitation to participate in the design process for the for Enterprise. ( , p. 32) Being an Original Series fan, Drexler might otherwise have been a consideration for the producers not to employ him, as friend and co-worker Mandel reiterated, "When they started ''Enterprise, they made a conscious decision to bring in some new blood, and not just round up the usual suspects; but in practice, it meant that fans like Rick Sternbach, Tim Earls and myself weren’t asked back. However, a number of fans who had worked on DS9 and had been taking an extended leave of absence came back when Enterprise started, so the total number of Star Trek fans stayed about the same." xCW9imJ8mIzUQ}} Due to his intimate knowledge of ''The Original Series, Drexler has been deeply involved with the build of the Original Series sets for the homage episodes, , , and , and though he has not received a "production designer" credit for any of them, his contributions to the second episode in particular were examined in detail in the 2001 reference EBook, The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of Trials and Tribble-ations. "In particular, Doug was the one responsible for going thru stacks and stacks of VHS tapes, doing video frame grabs for all of us who needed to know what the corridor door frames looked like, or where the intercoms were mounted, or how wide the stripes were on the floor, or a million other things. There is no way that this episode could have been as accurate as it was without Doug’s dedication and hard work. Without Doug’s efforts, a lot more things would have been guesswork, and the overall product would have been diminished," an appreciative Okuda stated in regard to the "Tribble" episode. While Drexler worked for the live action franchise, he co-authored and illustrated the Manual, and illustrated all editions of the Encyclopedia, its CD-ROM derivative as well as such reference books like Star Trek Science Logs, all of which in Adobe. His subsequent mastery of the LightWave software, aside for his regular work for televised Star Trek, also served him well, when he was asked by Pocket Books to provide (CGI) covers for several of their novels, most notably the covers of the Star Trek: Vanguard novels. ( , pp. 82-84), as well as becoming from 2004 onward, a contributor and co-editor of the popular Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar series. He also contributed as illustrator to the 1998 interactive CD-ROM, Star Trek: Captain's Chair, for which he, most notably, created the ''Constitution''-class operations graphic, that was later elevated to canon, when it was featured in the fourth season Enterprise "In a Mirror, Darkly" episode. Drexler also contributed to the 2004 Borg Invasion 4D-ride at the Star Trek: The Experience-attraction, but for the longest of times he was not aware of it; when he posted a by him constructed CGI model of a shuttle on his blog in 2009, he, after first incorrectly believing it was a rejected build for the title sequence of Enterprise, only could remember that he, "(...)was building the model in the art department when I got the word that Foundation had already begun their version, so it was never completed." This indicated that it was nevertheless built for the first season of the new series, as Foundation only worked on that season before the company went out of business. His blog participants almost immediately recognized the shuttle as having been featured in the the Borg ride, much to Drexler's glee, "That’s the great thing about blogging with you guys! It makes me remember! Yes! I do believe it was used as the Olympia. I think I turned this over to Threshold, along with a starbase model. Was there a starbase in the story?" And indeed there was, also immediately identified by blog participants as having been featured in the ride, when Drexler posted that model a short time later. As it turned out, Drexler was at the time requested to turn over his models to Threshold Digital Research Labs, the effects company which produced the VFX for the ride under the supervision of Drexler's former Foundation superior Adam Lebowitz. Unaware of this fact, but thinking nothing further of it, Drexler dutifully complied by handing over his, what he believed, Enterprise rejects. At Threshold the models were completed and featured as the Olympia shuttle and as the Starfleet science research facility Copernicus Station, respectively. By posting the two models, it had even helped the designer of both, John Eaves, to have his memory jogged, "I just found the art work for this one!!! I forgot What we were doing this for but so loved the modeling you did on it and that crazy tikki faced space station!!! Your the KING!!!" This was not an unusual thing, as Eaves had clarified on another occasion, "Between Doug and I we have far more rejected pieces than approved...and you were always worried when all the ideas went to a meeting that they would choose the one you didn’t want to get approved." Doug Drexler acted as a technical consultant for the 2006 [[TOS-R|remastered Original Series]], for which he was fully credited, and repeated this for the 2012 follow-up project, the [[TNG-R|remastered The Next Generation series]], albeit uncredited, and on a more freelance, occasional base. In addition, he has served as technical consultant and illustrator for the model kit companies Bandai and Polar Lights for their respective (refit) NX-class model kit outings in 2003 and 2014. of In 2012, Drexler joined on a freelance basis the editorial staff of Ben Robinson's Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection partwork publication as CGI supervisor, consultant and contributor, especially on those issues that sported his own starship designs. In 2013, Drexler and Andrew Probert designed the new Deep Space 9 station for the cover of the Star Trek: The Fall novel Revelation and Dust. In November 2014 Drexler again returned to the Star Trek franchise when he was invited to become a part as consultant of a team of experts – including a host of former Star Trek alumni – to oversee a new restoration of the original [[Constitution class model (original)#Eleven-foot model|eleven-foot Enterprise studio model]], residing at the Smithsonian's (NASM), for its 50th anniversary. Though having accepted the prestigious assignment, Drexler was unable to attend the team's first work meeting on 13 May 2015, due to previous engagements. Appearances Doug Drexler has made two cameo appearances as a Starfleet officer. Upon starting work on Star Trek, he asked if he could appear as a background artist, in uniform, at some point. His wish was granted in the third season episode , where he appeared as a [[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) command division personnel#Command division crewmember in Ten Forward (2366)|command division Enterprise-D officer]] in several scenes set in Ten Forward. He also appeared in as an Earth Starfleet ceremony attendee. Perhaps not coincidentally, his name has been used referring to two Starfleet personnel, D. Drexler and Doug Drexler, on dedication plaques in the same time periods. In addition, Drexler had a Klingon character named after him – Drex, the son of Martok and Sirella, appearing in –, and which titillated him to no end, "I got a Klingon named after me! There was a Klingon named Drex. Michael Dorn always loved my last name for a Klingon; on TNG he would yell across the stage, "Drexler, Drexler, Drexler." He'd say, "It's a great Klingon Name" And I think I told Ira that. Also I had Drex on my jacket. Ira always used to see that." ( ) . File:Giant Poster Book issue 1 cover.jpg|1976: Magazine series editor and author Star Trek Giant Poster Book File:Sweet smell of evil comic.jpg|1977: Comic book co-author Sweet Smell of Evil File:Starfleet Medical Reference Manual.jpg|1977: Fan production co-author/illustrator Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual File:Enterprise Officer's Manual.jpg|1980: Fan production illustrator USS Enterprise Officer's Manual Doug Drexler adjusting the makeup on actress Juliana Donald.jpg|1990: Adjusting the make-up on actress Juliana Donald as Tayna File:Jerry Quist.jpg|1990: Makeup artist, chronicling Star Trek history, photographing colleague Jerry Quist File:Command division crewmember in Ten Forward, 2366.jpg|1990: Performing as [[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) command division personnel#Command division crewmember in Ten Forward (2366)|command division Enterprise-D officer]] File:Cardassian script.gif|1993: Cardassian script , et al. File:STchronologyV1.jpg|1993: Co-illustrator Star Trek Chronology File:Encyclopedia first edition.jpg|1994: Co-illustrator Star Trek Encyclopedia File:Doug Drexler and Enterprise-B cutaway.jpg|1994: Creator MSD File:Intrepid class MSD.jpg|1994: Co-creator MSD , et al. File:DS9 MSD.png|1994: Creator Deep Space 9 MSD , et al. File:Mars model.jpg|1995: Co-creator Mars Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards maquette File:Defiant class MSD.jpg|1995: Creator updated MSD , et al. File:Naamloos-2.jpg|1998: ''Chaffee''-type shuttlepod design File:Science Logs.jpg|1998: Illustrator Star Trek Science Logs File:Scenic Artist Doug Drexler working on Starfleet interface graphics for Insurrection.jpg|1998: Working as scenic artist on Starfleet interface okudagrams File:Deep Space Nine Technical Manual cover.jpg|1998: Co-author/illustrator Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual File:Borg tactical cube design sketches by Doug Drexler.jpg|2000: Borg tactical cube design File:NX-class early configuration concepts.jpg|2000: Early design concepts File:SS Conestoga.jpg|2001: CGI build File:Bandai Model kit 122721 Enterprise NX-01 2003.jpg|2003: Technical consultant Bandai model kit File:Ships of the Line 2004 actual.jpg|2003 and onward: Co-editor/illustrator Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar series ''Star Trek: Ships of the Line'' (2004) File:Olympia shuttle CGI model.jpg|2004: CGI build Olympia shuttle Borg Invasion 4D File:Copernicus Station.jpg|2004: CGI build Copernicus Station Borg Invasion 4D File:Doug Drexler's CGI starbase 47.jpg|2005 and onward: CGI cover art for Star Trek: Vanguard series Harbinger File:USS Defiant NCC-1764 CGI model.jpg|2005: Design and CGI build Tholian asteroid dock File:Constitution class schematics.jpg|2005: Original schematic, originally done for Star Trek: Captain's Chair File:Doug Drexler (ensign).jpg|2005: Performing as an Earth Starfleet ceremony attendee File:Drexler Enterprise NX-01 Refit.jpg|2010: Refit- design File:Star Trek Official Starships Collection Issue 4 test.jpg|2012 and onward: Illustrator, Consultant Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection Coda When asked in 2013 if his fifteen-year tenure on live-action Star Strek had in any way diminished his enjoyment of the franchise as fan, Doug Drexler emphatically exclaimed, "Working behind the scenes for so many years only revved me up!" He concurrently added that The Original Series was and remained his favorite Star Trek incarnation, elaborating, "None can equal the original, simply because it was the first...that show birthed everything that came after it. It certainly changed the course of my life, and colored everything that I would do from then on. TNG is right up there next to TOS. It's a thoroughbred, that is true to it's roots. It's ''Star Trek grown up. It's philosophical, and thoughtful. That's what makes real Star Trek. Star Trek is always about an idea. If it isn't asking questions, it's just an action movie." It was however, also in this light that he on the same occasion expressed his doubts on the re-imagined, alternate reality franchise, which started with the 2009 movie , "''Technically they are beautiful...the work is stunning...however...and I hope no one will hold this against me...I did not enjoy the last two films, and honest...I really wanted to...but for me, ''Star Trek has to have a philosophical, humanist bend to it...always making a point, or asking a question. It should be introspective, and self examining. That's the Roddenberry factor. The new films are devoid of Gene Roddenberry, and at the end of the day, I'm not ok with that." Still, despite continuing being a fan, it has not prevented Drexler, after meeting Alec Peters, to let go of most of his collection of ''Star Trek production items he had accumulated over the years, in Propworx' first two 2010-2011 specialized ''Star Trek'' auctions, as he started to run out of storage space. Nevertheless, most of these he had already previously shared with fellow fans on his blog. (see below) Continuations as Star Trek fan Outside the official franchise framework, Drexler, The Original Series fan he is, but now credited under the pseudonym "Max Rem", also volunteered to work on James Cawley's fan made internet series Star Trek: New Voyages (2004-2007). He worked as a VFX artist, executive producer, make-up artist, casting director, and editor on the series and wrote the story for the episode "In Harms Way". As CGI VFX artist, Drexler built several CGI model versions of ships for this production, such as the Class F shuttlecraft, the Klingon D7 class, the DY-100 class and most notably, with support from Petri Blomqvist, the ''Constitution''-class. Most of these CGI builds for this fan production, later turned up on several occasions, usually credited under his "Max Rem" pseudonym, in the licensed Ships of the Line calendar series, and their 2006 book derivative. From 2013 onward, Drexler, now under his own name, continued to extend his support as producer and VFX artist to the more recent, likewise conceived fan project, Star Trek Continues. In the first full episode of the series, "Pilgrim of Eternity", Drexler also starred in a guest role as a holodeck character in the episode's teaser. The Drex Files To disseminate all the knowledge he had accumulated over the years to fellow Star Trek fans, Drexler started his internet blog, the on 14 December 2008. For four years running, a large amount of behind-the-scenes information was posted on this blog (including most of his aforementioned collection of Star Trek production items), providing an intimate look into all production aspects of Star Trek productions set in the prime universe, with most of its contents not available anywhere else. Over the four following years, Drexler's blog has amassed a large following; not only fans participated in his blog but former VFX production staff colleagues, such as Brandon MacDougall, Robert Bonchune, Adam Buckner, Dana White Shea, and many more, contributed to his blog too. The more prominent production staff contributors to Drexlers' blog were Rick Sternbach, Michael Okuda and Andrew Probert, who provided a considerable amount of additional information. Activity on the blog had considerably slackened off from 2012 onward though. Noteworthy was that Drexler on his blog provided a platform for young and aspiring "amateur" digital modelers to showcase their work. Along with former Foundation colleague Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, Drexler became one of the few publication editors who granted these budding artists a chance to create work for official Star Trek print publications, most notably of course, the by Drexler himself edited Ship of the Line calendar series. Two of them in particular, Tobias Richter and Douglas E. Graves, were thanks to Drexler given the opportunity to contribute to the remastered version of The Next Generation, which marked their professional entry in the motion picture industry. The blog was taken down in early March 2013, due to perceived copyright infringements put forward by former VFX colleagues. Drexler stated the following on his Facebook page, "You know how I brand all the images I post with Drex Files. Several of my VFX colleagues took exception to that. They felt I was claiming credit for it all by doing that. I received a couple of angry notes that were upsetting. I felt the best thing was to off-line it for now. My intention was never to steal credit, in fact I felt like I was promoting everyone’s work. Drex Files regulars know that I note credits for work whenever I have the info, and if I don’t, I appeal to the audience to speak up if they know something about it. So for now, the Drex Files is dark, at least until I have a chance to think about it and review it." http://startrekblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/drex-files-offline/ One of the very last pictures Drexler posted on his blog before it went dark, was one in which he was seen sitting on the throne of Kahless that was constructed for the season six Next Generation episode . In it he emulated the signature pensive and moody pose, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger had assumed in his titular role at the end of the 1982 cult classic, Conan the Barbarian. Unwittingly and in hindsight, it was Drexler himself who had provided an apt coda for his blog; as of 2015 Drexler has opted not to revive his blog, but instead to use his Facebook page as the venue to continue disseminating his knowledge. The "DrexFiles" proved to be an inspiration for the companion site of John Eaves, who started his likewise successful blog, , on 16 March 2009. He stated on that occasion, "I have to thank the ever and all talented master of media and VFX illusionist, Doug Drexler, for encouraging me to get off my fat butt and finally start a fun blog page!!! I have always wanted to have place to share the fun and adventures of those glorious movie and Star Trek days with friends, coworkers and fans of the films and shows..." Post-''Star Trek'' career While employed at Foundation Imaging, Drexler was at first put to work on Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, before being allowed to work on Voyager. Following his official tenure on the Star Trek franchise, Drexler subsequently worked as CGI VFX supervisor on Ronald D. Moore's successful Battlestar Galactica franchise, its short lived prequel series, Caprica, and the more recent Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (2012) direct-to-DVD movie. His tenure on that franchise earned him no less than two "Outstanding Special Visual Effects" Emmy Awards, three additional nominations, as well as a 2009 VES Award (shared with Gary Hutzel and Kyle Toucher). In between Drexler worked on productions like, Future by Design (2006), Area 57 (2007), Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008), Virtuality (2009), and Drive Angry (2011). One of Drexlers' more involved engagements was his participation in the 2013 television show Adventures of Superseven, on which he not only contributed as CGI automobile modeler, but also appeared on two occasions as a recurrent guest star. Drexler's most recent employment was as a CGI supervisor for Syfy's 2013 science fiction television series Defiance, resulting in the addition of yet another 2013 VFX Emmy Award nomination (shared with Hutzel, David R. Morton, Toucher, Sean M. Jackson, and Douglas E. Graves) to his laurels. Ever since Enterprise, or rather Voyager, Drexler has remained a VFX artist, and at first glance this was seemingly in contradiction with his "get all you can" life adage, quoted at the top of this entry. Yet, he has philosophically put this apparent contradiction in perspective, "With CG, which is so all encompassing, it is really, really hard to get bored. You get to be the designer, set the lights, the camera, create the mood...you do it all. Interestingly enough, though, I still get to do makeup, in the computer that is. Funny how that works." http://www.thebronzereview.com/#!st-doug-drexler/c17s3 Drexler is married to Enterprise food stylist Dorothy Duder. Star Trek credits (This list is currently incomplete.) *''Star Trek'' films **''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (The Director's Edition) – Digital Modeler (Foundation Imaging) ** – Scenic Artist ** – Scenic Artist/Designer ** – Scenic Artist/Designer ** – Designer/Production Illustrator/additional conceptual art *''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited, Season 3) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Special Effects Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited, Season 5) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Special Effects Makeup Artist (uncredited) ** – Makeup Artist (uncredited) *''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' **DS9 Season 1 *** , through , odd-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist *** – Designer *** through even-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 2 *** through , even-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 3 *** through , even-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 4 *** through , odd-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 5 *** through , odd-numbered episodes – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 6 – Scenic Artist **DS9 Season 7 – Scenic Artist *''Star Trek: Voyager'' **VOY Season 1 *** – Concept Designer (uncredited), Scenic Artist (unsanctioned) **VOY Season 2 *** – Model Maker (uncredited, unsanctioned) **VOY Season 3 - VOY Season 7 – Production Illustrator, Digital Modeler (Foundation Imaging, uncredited) * Star Trek: Enterprise **ENT Season 1 *** – Production Illustrator *** through – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator *** – Senior Illustrator **ENT Season 2 – Senior Illustrator **ENT Season 3 – Senior Illustrator **ENT Season 4 – Senior Illustrator *''Borg Invasion 4D'' – Digital Modeler (uncredited) Emmy Award nominations For his work on Star Trek, Drexler has received the following Emmy Award nominations as "Makeup Artist" in the category Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Series: * for the episode , shared with Michael Westmore, Gerald Quist, June Westmore, Hank Edds, John Caglione, Jr., and Ron Walters * for the episode , shared with Michael Westmore, Gerald Quist, June Abston Haymore, Karen Westerfield, and Jill Rockow Bibliography * Print publications ** Star Trek Giant Poster Book magazine series, 1976 – Author/Editor ** This Tree Bears Bitter Fruit, 1977 – Story Consultant ** Sweet Smell of Evil, 1977 – Co-author ** Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual, 1977 – Co-illustrator ** USS Enterprise Officer's Manual, 1980 – Illustrator ** Star Trek Chronology, 1993 et al. – Co-illustrator ** Star Trek Encyclopedia, 1994 et al. – Co-illustrator ** Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, 1998 – Co-author/Illustrator ** Star Trek Science Logs, 1998 – Illustrator ** Star Trek Sticker Book, 1999 – Illustrator ** Star Trek: Star Charts, 2002 – Co-illustrator ** Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar series, 2004 et al. – Co-Illustrator/Editor ** Star Trek: Vanguard novel series, 2005 – Cover Illustrator ** Ships of the Line (book), 2006 et al. – Co-Illustrator/Co-Editor **''Plagues of Night'' (novel), 2012 – Cover Illustrator **''Raise the Dawn'' (novel), 2012 – Cover Illustrator ** Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection *** Issue 4, 2012 - Illustrator, Consultant *** Issue 34, 2014 - Illustrator, Consultant *** Issue 58, 2015 - Illustrator, Consultant *** Issue SP6, 2016 - Illustrator, Consultant **''Revelation and Dust'' (novel), 2013 – Cover Illustrator **''The Missing'' (novel), 2014 – Cover Illustrator **"Connections: Designing A Legend", , pp. 13-17 - Author * Interactive CD-ROMs ** Star Trek Omnipedia. 1995 – Co-Illustrator ** Star Trek: Captain's Chair, 1997 – Co-Illustrator ** Star Trek: Starship Creator, 1998 – Co-Illustrator Star Trek interviews *''Star Trek'' DVD and Blu-ray special features: **DS9 Season 5 DVD-special feature, "A new Enterprise", interviewed on **ENT Season 4 DVD-special feature, "Inside the "Mirror" Episodes" **TNG Season 1 Blu-ray-special feature, "Stardate Revisited, Part 3: The Continuing Mission" (2012) *Print publications: **"Doug Drexler: Scenic Artist", David Hirsch, The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine, issue 11, March 1995, pp. 50-56 **"Designing the Borg tactical cube", Larry Nemecek, , October 2000, pp. 92-94 **"Doug Drexler", Larry Nemecek, , January 2001, pp. 68-73 **"Doug Drexler (Part 2)", Larry Nemecek, , February 2001, pp. 82-89 **"Behind the Scenes: Designing the Ti'Mur", Larry Nemecek, , July 2002, pp. 20-24 **"Doug Drexler: The Evolution of an Artist", Alec Peters, The official STAR TREK prop and costume auction catalog, 2010, pp. 18-23 *''Star Trek'' documentary: **''Trek Nation'', 2011 External links * - former official blog * * * * * * 2002 Doug Drexler interview at Trekweb.com * 2006 Doug Drexler interview at TrekPlace.com * * 2015 Doug Drexler interview, Part 1 and Part 2 at TheBronzeReview.com de:Doug Drexler es:Doug Drexler Category:Makeup staff Category:Art department Category:Special and Visual effects staff Category:Performers Category:TNG performers Category:ENT performers Category:Emmy Award nominees Category:Star Trek comic authors Category:Star Trek reference authors Category:Star Trek reference artists Category:Star Trek novel artists Category:Star Trek calendar artists Category:CBS Digital staff